OKLAHOMA CITY  Big 12 schools are branching out this week to create a smorgasbord of four straight days of football.

Just don't count on Kansas coach Mark Mangino wanting to get in on the weekday action again anytime soon. The 19th-ranked Jayhawks fell six spots in the polls after losing 34-31 to South Florida last Friday night, but his preference for playing on Saturdays is more about tradition.

"In my opinion, college football is made for Saturdays and that's the way we like to do it," Mangino said Monday on the Big 12 coaches' conference call.

"Winning or losing had no bearing on what day we played, I'll make that clear, but one of the things that we do here is we have a routine. We're comfortable with the routine, our players are comfortable with it, it's been good to us and we'd like to stay with that."

Kansas State kicks off the Big 12 schedule by hosting Louisville on Wednesday night, Colorado hosts No. 21 West Virginia on Thursday and Baylor visits Connecticut on Friday night before a slate of six Saturday games.

It's the first time in the conference's history that games have been played on four straight days.

"I'm very conflicted about the games and when they're played. I think that one of the biggest issues is that we have a lot of terrific teams and a lot of terrific quarterbacks and I can understand why it's important for the kids and the programs to be seen nationally, and I think it's a great opportunity," K-State coach Ron Prince said.

"The football coach in me also says things that get you out of your routine and things that take you away from the classroom, that's not the norm in football."

Prince said he consulted with other college and pro coaches during the offseason for ideas on dealing with playing at an odd time and felt like he developed a solid plan.

Colorado's Dan Hawkins admitted there are some trade-offs with the weekday games. About 30 of his players had to skip practice on the Buffaloes' usual off day Monday because they had to attend class, but in turn they'll get to play on national television.

"Any time you get an opportunity to put your product out there, it's great for your fans and your alums and your recruiting as well, so all that stuff means something," Hawkins said.

For first-year Baylor coach Art Briles, playing on a Saturday would almost be against the norm in his time so far at the school. The Bears' game last week was supposed to be played on Saturday but was moved up to the previous night because of Hurricane Ike's impending arrival.

"When they tell us to play, we play," Briles said. "You just adjust your schedule. So far this year, we've played on a Thursday, a Saturday and two Fridays. I like it because that's what we're doing."

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FAKE FOR THE FUTURE: Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said the Tigers' successful third-quarter fake field goal wasn't aimed at running it up on Nevada, but at giving future opponents something to think about.

"When you run a fake, everybody that plays you, the first thing they say is 'Hey, they will fake.' So that affects what they do the rest of the season against us, how they align," Pinkel said. "They might cheat their alignment, but then they say, 'No, they'll fake it, so we better not do that.'

"Really, it was very good for opponents to see that we will continue to run fakes, and I think that will take a little bit of pressure off when they're going after our PAT-field goal team."

Pinkel added that he wasn't wasting the fake at a time when Missouri was already up 45-17 because it was prepared solely for the Wolf Pack.

"You don't have a fake field goal you take into every game and use it. We design them for everybody that we see an edge to do it," Pinkel said. "We will do it if we think it's at a position where it's going to work."

Receiver Tommy Saunders threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chase Coffman on the fake.

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NOT SO FUNNY BUSINESS: Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said he thought there might have been some funny business going on when defensive tackle Demarcus Granger was injured in the second quarter of the Sooners' 55-14 win Saturday at Washington.

Granger had been flagged for a personal foul the previous play for shoving offensive lineman Casey Bulyca to the ground after the whistle had been blown. Bulyca and fellow linemen Jordan White-Frisbee and Juan Garcia then triple-teamed Granger, piling on top of him on the ground.

"Unfortunate any time any of that happens, but there's always a lot of rough and tough play inside so nobody here is whining about it," Stoops said.

Granger was a key run-stuffer for the Sooners last season but was sent home from the Fiesta Bowl after he was caught shoplifting a coat at an Arizona mall.

He then got passed on the depth chart by Adrian Taylor while nursing a back injury in preseason camp.

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RECORD-SETTING HONOREES: To qualify for Big 12 player of the week honors this week, setting a school record was apparently a prerequisite.

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin took home the offensive selection after setting a Bears record with 217 yards rushing and two touchdowns against Washington State.

The defensive honor went to Texas Tech safety Daniel Charbonnet, whose three interceptions against SMU tied the school record.

Missouri kicker Jeff Wolfert was the special teams player of the week after making a school-record nine extra points against Nevada in as many attempts. He also hit two field goals.

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